One of the oldest and most frustrating problems which confronts fisherman is the probability that the tug on the end of his fishing line is the engagement of a weed or other unwanted catch rather than a fish. This is the most common predicament a fisherman finds himself in, given the fact that many fish are to be found in areas that contain weeds or other obstacles. If the point of a fish hook is exposed and dragged through the water, it is far more likely to snag debris than a fish.
Several attempts to render a lure weedless have been patented. Some contained mechanical weedguards that were required to be set not unlike a mousetrap. However, sometimes the tension holding the weedguard in place would be too great and the mechanism would not disengage when struck by a fish. Conversely, if the tension were too weak, the mechanism would disengage without a fish strike. These types of lures are no longer readily available on the market.
Other more recent attempts to create a weedless lure include Hardwicke, III, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,148, which was a typical plastic worm containing an appendage intended to act as a weedguard. The appendage was made of a PVC plasticol with a low penetration resistance. The main problem with this type of lure is that it required the fisherman to impale the appendage axially with the point of the hook and then push the hook deep enough into the appendage to cover the exposed part of the hook. This was not a simple task. Because the appendage had a low penetration resistance and had a preferred thickness of only 4 to 5 mm, the process of impaling the appendage frequently resulted in unintentional tearing the walls of the appendage and/or impaling one's finger.
A common practice of fisherman is to "Texas Rig" an artificial worm. A Texas Rigged worm passes the hook through the nose of the worm leaving the shank substantially outside of the worm and then passes the point radially back into the worm. This method leaves the point inside the worm in an attempt to make the lure weedless. The problems with Texas Rigs are that the shank protrudes a relatively great distance from the body of the worm giving it a very unnatural look and feel. It also requires the fisherman to attempt the difficult task of positioning the point of the hook close enough to the outer skin of the worm such that the point can penetrate the surface in the event of a fish bite.
Several other attempts have been made to solve snagging problems. However, no prior patents have been completely successful and none have suggested the simple, but novel features of the present invention.